Disclaimer: I own neither Draco Malfoy, nor Ginny Weasley. They, as well as all other magical lingo, are owned by JK Rowling.
This story is written to be a Draco/Ginny romance.
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Chapter 3 – To Encounter
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She bent over, tying her shoelace. He'd never noticed before, but she was tiny. Shorter than most of her classmates. And incredibly thin. He smirked, thinking that wouldn't last long if she took after her mother. Plump as a pumpkin, that one.
Her delicate fingers wove and pulled the tatty strings on her scuffed sneakers. He sneered, resisting any urge to tease her for…well, being poor. Instead, he turned his sneer to the group of first-year Ravenclaws that walked past him.
Though the hallway was crowded, with students all rushing to their next classes, but they all made room for him, as he pushed his way through, keeping the tiny girl in sight. She turned into the hall that led to the library.
He rolled his eyes. He should have guessed. She'll make a first-class-Granger, if she kept this up, he thought. Nerd. But, nevertheless, he hurried to follow her.
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In the library, he sat, twisting his bottom lip between his fingers. The parchments spread across the table in front of him remained neglected. At the moment, he didn't care.
The week had passed quickly, and he didn't care about a thing in the world. He'd won the Quidditch match against Gryffindor. There was nothing that could bring him down. And he had felt her eyes on him the entire game. He'd spotted her flushed face watching him with anticipation. He had to win it. For her.
For her.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw her still browsing a shelf close behind him. She'd been searching for a book for a suspiciously long time. He turned back around, just as he saw her glance hesitantly at him. He sighed, focusing his eyes on his Herbology assignment.
It was another few minutes before she sauntered past him, back to her seat. She had a large book in her arms, and when she sat down, her eyes darted up to meet his. He looked away, cursing himself for letting this game continue, and at the same time, smiling to himself.
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He rubbed his eyes, feeling tired and irritable. He'd been out on the Pitch practicing for nearly two hours. The rest of his team had gone back to the castle, but he refused to stop yet. He trained hard. Not simply because he had to, but because he wanted to.
He relished in the feel of sweat dripping from his brow after a particularly hard go. He'd released the Snitch for the third time that evening. It was foolish, considering the sun was setting. The stars starting to twinkle. He'd be out for quite a while longer.
Clenching his jaw, he adjusted his grasp on his broom, and raced around the Pitch, thinking he spotted a flash of gold.
Then he felt an odd prickling sensation. And when he looked back over his shoulder at the far end of the field, he saw her. She was standing there, and even from the great distance, he could recognize her red hair.
What was she doing out here?
He debated on whether he should ignore her, or if he should fly over and insult her…fly over and ask her to leave? But before he could decide on what to do, she turned around and walked away, into the shadows.
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Wondering what he should do about his newfound obsession with the little Weasley, he walked through the halls. They were mostly deserted, most of the student body at lunch. He was on his way to the Great Hall, rounding a corner, when he saw a small figure bent over a pile of books on the floor.
The red hair, the tatty school uniform, and the second-hand textbooks. It was her.
He sucked in his breath and looked around himself. Nobody was there. Sure he'd thought about what he'd do if he got such a chance, but he never imagined he would.
She dropped to her knees, still picking up her books, rather slowly. The glazed look on her face made him wonder what happened.
He started to walk down the hall, pretending not to notice her.
Hearing his footfalls, she looked up at him. A flash of emotions passed over her face. But, ignoring him, she pushed her hair over her shoulder and resumed collecting her books.
Desperately searching his brain, he tried to come up with something snide, rude to say. Something about her bookbag. About her being poor. About her hair. Anything. Nothing seemed very intelligent. So he opted to keep his mouth shut.
"Well?"
Almost past her, he turned to look down at her, surprise slowly registering.
"Well, what?"
"Aren't you going to help me?"
"Help you?" He arched an eyebrow. She looked indignant.
"Oh, nevermind, Malfoy. You're no different than I would have thought –"
He sighed and bent over, stacking several books and picking them up. She stood up, too, one hand wrapped around a torn bookbag and the other hand balancing a huge stack of books against her chest. She looked up at him, her warm brown eyes pleading for his help. He felt a strange tug in his chest, and he shook himself.
Unsure of what to do, he shoved the books on top of her teetering stack, letting them pile up to her chin. She groaned under the weight and flashed him an unbelieving look. He smirked and nodded, walking away. He pushed his hands deep inside his pockets, trying to act cool and casual, but feeling rather flustered and excited.
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She had her hair in her mouth again. Rather disgusting little habit of hers. Her usually cheerful demeanor was deflated. She seemed tired and depressed. The incident in the hallway had been over three days ago. He wanted to buy her a new bookbag and send a small note apologizing for being an ass.
But instead, he'd just watched her walk around, carrying her books in her arms for the past few days.
Out of habit, he stole glances at the Gryffindor table. He saw her carefully looking around herself, trying to see if anyone was watching her. And quite slyly, she looked over at him. And when their eyes met, he arched an eyebrow. She blushed furiously and looked away. He saw her tiny pink tongue dart out, running across her bottom lip.
He heaved a deep sigh and closed his eyes. He really needed to stop doing this. It was torture as much as it was fun.
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Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading! Please review! More will be up soon, from Ginny's point of view.
Till next time –
Eclipsed Planet